FOND DU LAC - An Oshkosh man accused of playing the main role in a scheme which caused Sadoff Iron & Metal in Fond du Lac to lose $14 million dollars appeared in court Monday.

Sterling W. Kienbaum, 52, made his initial appearance in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court Monday after being charged with racketeering and five counts of theft of more than $10,000.

Judge Dale English set bond at $1 million dollars cash. Kienbaum posted the money Monday, and was released from jail.

According to court documents, Kienbaum, who owns the Fox Valley Iron Metal & Auto Salvage in Oshkosh, was making payments to one of his employees, Daniel Christianson, to give to Sadoff's Donald Krueger. In exchange, Krueger would accept scrap heavier-than-normal automobiles from Fox Valley's yard, which exceeded Sadoff's load limits.

Krueger said he knew loads from Fox Valley would be overloaded with dirt and would overlook them, according to court documents. As a result, Sadoff was overpaying Fox Valley for its scrap material. Between 2009 and 2015, Sadoff lost over $14.3 million dollars..

Krueger told investigators Fox Valley Iron Metal & Auto Salvage paid him up to $35,000 from 2014 to 2015. He had been receiving payments for the past 17 or 18 years, according to court documents.

The Fond du Lac Police Department started its investigation into the incident after concerns arose that the Fox Valley company employees were filling scrap automobiles with extra weight, then selling the scrap with the added weight to Sadoff.

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John Eide and Mark Lasky walk past a pile of scrap metal at Sadoff Iron & Metal Company in September of 2015.(Photo11: Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

"We are very appreciative of law enforcement’s excellent work and diligence in investigating this matter, and we are pleased that those efforts have resulted in Kienbaum’s arrest," Sadoff Iron & Metal Co. CEO Mark Lasky said in a statement to USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. "We look forward to the criminal legal process running its course, which we are confident will establish, beyond any reasonable doubt, Kienbaum’s guilt for the scheme to defraud our company. In addition to the criminal charges, we are pursuing, through civil litigation, recovery of the damages the company suffered.”

Krueger was convicted in December 2015 of theft of more than $10,000. Christianson was also convicted of theft of more than $10,000 in December 2016.

Kienbaum's next court hearing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. March 16. If convicted of all charges, he could spend up to 65 years in prison.